Changing lives of Irish teenagers with Oak Ridge experiences

What most people in the United States think about when we hear the word “integrated” is black and white -- a race issue

Beverly Majors | beverly.majors@oakridger.com

What most people in the United States think about when we hear the word “integrated” is black and white -- a race issue.

But in Northern Ireland when children say they go to integrated schools, it’s all about religion -- Catholic and Protestant.

John Hough, Ulster Project coordinator, told Oak Ridge Rotarians one of the Project’s goals “is to give the students a sense of some understanding of religious tolerance here in the U.S.”

The Oak Ridge Rotary Club recently hosted Ulster Project young people from Northern Ireland and the United States. About 29 teens attended a recent Rotarian luncheon.

“We’re now starting to see some legacies,” Hough said, as he spoke about some of the successes of some of the students who have participated in Ulster in years past.

Robert Kosky, a co-president of Ulster, said his experience taught him about friendships.

“My experience has been incredible,” he said. “It gave me a chance to step outside of Northern Ireland and experience another way of life.”

Julie Davis said with everything segregated in Northern Ireland, “it’s difficult to discover who we are as teenagers. Through the Ulster Project, I had the opportunity to become a peacemaker.”

Shaun Gallagher said being involved in the Ulster Project had “changed his life.”

Hough said this is Oak Ridge’s 26th year of Ulster, although the Project started in 1975. According to information from the Ulster Project website, the Rev. Kerry Waterstone, a Church of Ireland (Anglican) priest, founded the Project as a way to help change the attitudes of teens in Northern Ireland. He wanted them to see and experience the way Americans have learned to live together in their “melting pot” society.

Under the Ulster Project, teenagers -- half of them Catholic, half of them Protestant, half girls, half boys -- from paired Northern Irish communities, come to the United States to live in private homes for a month. The teens live with host families of the same side of the Catholic/Protestant “faith line” and are matched by a committee by the participating American churches.

During their month-long visit, the teens meet almost daily for social, community and worship activities.

More than 6,000 teens from Northern Ireland have participated in the various Ulster Project programs.

Beverly Majors can be contacted at (865) 220-5514.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.